


Giving Up The Ghost

by BimeyMooMimey



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Coping, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Lovers, Established Relationship, Eventual Romance, F/F, Ghosts, Guilt, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Linear Narrative, Post-Save Arcadia Bay Ending, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Suicidal Thoughts, minor pricefield
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25672108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BimeyMooMimey/pseuds/BimeyMooMimey
Summary: After a hellishly exhausting final year at Blackwell full of tears, loss, and love, Victoria Chase was ready to move on. During her final days in Arcadia Bay, she just wanted to pack her things, say goodbye to the friends she had managed to keep, and leave the dingy little town with the unlikely girlfriend she had made by her side.But Victoria's plans go awry when she is reunited with a ghost from the past. Literally.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price, Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Victoria Chase, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Victoria Chase & Chloe Price
Comments: 27
Kudos: 46





	1. The Visitation

Sit down. Deep breath. Check the clock. Stand up. Walk to the mirror. Brush her hair. Walk back to bed. Sit back down. Check the clock. Deep breath. Stand back up. Try on another dress. Or maybe a different pair of shoes would make her feel better…?

If she was honest with herself, Victoria Chase wasn’t sure exactly _what_ would make her feel less anxious than she currently was at the moment.

She sighed, looking back at her jittery expression in the mirror. “Okay, take it easy, Chase,” Victoria told the reflection, putting her hands on her hips. Saying it out loud pointedly did _not_ make her take it any easier, however, a fact that made her let out yet another long, dramatic sigh.

Victoria rubbed her forehead. Talking out loud like that, while stupid under most circumstances, just _might_ be helpful for her in this instance. After all, she had never really figured out what she was going to say when the time came, and she had to imagine that the person she was going with would want her to say at least a few words. She might as well try to come up with something…and she supposed talking to herself in the mirror wasn’t the _worst_ possible way to practice. Maybe.

Third dramatic sigh. Victoria stared into the mirror in silence. _Cough cough cough, this is the part where you start talking, Chase_ …

Right. She had almost forgotten.

“Hey,” Victoria said to herself in the mirror. Too informal? “Hello,” she tried to start again. Maybe that was too cold, though? “Uh…yo?” she attempted to say cautiously. Okay, now she was just _trying_ to sound condescending. Victoria was only a few seconds away from telling her reflection to fuck off, but then one thought – perhaps the most important one for the moment – reappeared in her head:

 _Remember why you’re doing this. And_ who _you’re doing this for._

This was stupid. Victoria _knew_ it was stupid. But…it was for a good cause. Alright, attempt number four. Which required a fourth long sigh.

“Hey,” Victoria said, looking at herself in the mirror. “I…fancy seeing you here.” What?? Oh, God, that was so fucking stupid. Victoria made a mental note to herself: do NOT say that when she gets there. But, whatever, she needed to move on from the introduction. “Listen…I know we never really interacted much. And when we did, well…I was a bit of a bitch to you. I think that’s fair to say?” Her reflection, of course, didn’t say anything back. She had to stop herself from sighing a fifth time. Victoria supposed that this was preparation for the real thing. “To be perfectly honest with you, I’m not sure that we have anything in common with each other. We’re, like, complete, total opposites. Different in every…practically every conceivable way.” She paused. “Different in every way?” she tried, rewording the last sentence. She wasn’t even sure if it was necessary or not.

 _Get to the point, Chase_. “Okay, okay. So, we’re different in pretty much every way…or, at least, that’s what you would think at first glance. But actually, it might surprise you to know that we have one key similarity,” Victoria continued, smiling to herself. “We both care about…we both _deeply_ care about the same person here. And I think we both know that she’s…well, she’s a lot of things, isn’t she?” Victoria had to physically fight the urge to gush by biting her tongue. “Chief among them being that she is an _exceptional_ judge of character. Which is why I know my initial judgement of you was…wrong. And, if you’re somehow listening and silently judging me, which…yeah, I wouldn’t blame you if you were. But _if_ you’re listening, I just want you to know that…”

Victoria trailed off. What _would_ she want her to know? Her dumb expression in the mirror wasn’t offering her any clues. She knew, she _knew_ she knew…but Victoria didn’t know how to put it into words. “That…that she’s being taken care of,” Victoria started to say. Great, now she sounded like the ruthless head of a crime syndicate. “That _I’m_ taking care of her,” she corrected, faltering in her confidence due to her latest slip-up. “That…that I’m going to continue to take care of her. Protect her. I, uh, I know you would’ve wanted that. Well, you would’ve wanted it to be _you_ , and I get that, but…”

Victoria practically jumped in place as she heard a knock on the door. _Shit_. Her time was up. “C-coming!” Victoria called out. She looked at herself in the mirror again, straightening out her hair. Deep breath. Okay. She _could_ do this. She was Victoria Chase, after all. One final sigh and she was ready to walk over to her dormitory door and open it.

Standing in front of her was the lady of the hour: the shy yet illustriously charming Maxine Caulfield.

In classic Caulfield style, she had not dressed up even a tiny bit. Victoria didn’t even think she was wearing makeup. It may have almost been Summer, but she still always insisted on wearing one of her stupid, casual hoodies – even though Victoria knew they would be outside. It made her all the more self-conscious as Victoria looked at the expensive dress she had chosen for this occasion. And she could _definitely_ see Max’s eyes looking the dress choice over questioningly.

“What, is too much?” Victoria asked, twirling the violet dress around a little bit with a frown. “I mean, yes, it’s mildly expensive, but it _is_ meant to be worn in relatively casual settings. I didn’t think I was overdoing it _that_ much…Max?”

Max blinked, ripping her eyes up from the dress distractedly to actually meet Victoria’s gaze…and that’s when it clicked with her that Max wasn’t looking at the dress questioning whether it was too excessive or inappropriate. Oh, no. Maxine had been busy _checking her out_.

“S-sorry…the dress is fine,” Max muttered bashfully with a heavy blush, all but confirming Victoria’s suspicions. Victoria couldn’t help but smirk at that. And in a flash, her confidence had risen back up to its normal levels.

“Oh? Is ‘fine’ _really_ the best you can say about it, Maxine?” Victoria teased, leaning against the doorway with a playful grin. “Or maybe you mean it as in, like, ‘guuuurl, that dress is _fiiiine_ ’…” Max may have scoffed in response to that, but her blush only became redder.

“Oh dog, please just shut up,” she responded. Of course, Victoria had the perfect comeback to that, but it seemed as if Max was already two steps ahead of her; she was quick to close the distance between them in order to plant a short, silencing kiss on her lips. Victoria wasn’t all that surprised, really – but she did secretly appreciate it when her girlfriend took the initiative.

The kiss didn’t last long, much to her disappointment. But in that brief time, Victoria could sense the nervous energy pulsating from Max at that moment. It certainly helped put things in perspective: this was going to be a lot harder for Max than it ever would be for her. Not that the situation wasn’t still a little…awkward…for Victoria.

Max was the one to sigh this time as they broke the kiss. “Okay…you ready?” she asked her, looking at Victoria with a small smile.

If she was honest with herself, even after all that prep…Victoria still wasn’t really sure. But she could only prepare herself so much for this. After all, she _was_ being invited to visit her girlfriend’s ex’s grave.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Victoria replied truthfully, grabbing her purse from her Blackwell dorm room as she closed the door. “Let’s go.”

* * *

The Arcadia Bay cemetery wasn’t that far from Blackwell – all in all, the drive might have lasted ten minutes from pulling out of the school and into the cemetery parking lot. Max wasn’t exactly chatty in the car…but then again, Victoria was still bubbling with her own nerves, so she wasn’t very conversational herself. Her mind was on the person they had come to visit: Chloe Price.

The funny thing was, Victoria had barely paid any attention to Chloe while she was still alive. She knew who she was, obviously. Chloe Price, the high school dropout who hung around Rachel Amber. Chloe Price, the stepdaughter to Blackwell’s head of security but who actively courted trouble at every possible opportunity she could get. Chloe Price, the tattoo enthusiast with the blue hair who was probably the most obvious lesbian to ever exist in the history of lesbianism. In Victoria’s eyes, she knew enough about Chloe Price solely off of her reputation, and based on the few interactions the two girls did have while Price was still at Blackwell, she didn’t think she needed to know anything else about her.

That changed when Chloe Price was killed by Victoria’s best friend.

And nearly eight months later, Victoria still couldn’t get the rebel punk with the blue hair out of her head. Partly due to guilt. And also partly due to her girlfriend’s history with her…some of which Victoria only later found out technically didn’t happen. Oh, the casual little dilemmas that time travel supposedly creates…

“Tori?”

Victoria shook herself out of her musing as she noticed Max delicately putting a hand over hers on the gear shift. They were already parked, and neither of them were making any move to get out. “Do…do you want to stay in the car?” Max asked her cautiously.

Victoria blinked. “What are you talking about?” she asked, frowning. “You asked me to come with you here, and I said yes.”

“Well, yeah, but that isn’t what I asked,” Max insisted, squeezing her hand. “You still have time to change your mind. I know you and Chloe had a…complicated…relationship. I wouldn’t be offended if you didn’t actually want to be here.”

“I don’t…” Victoria started to say, but she stopped herself as a stray thought trickled into her head. Maybe she had a legitimate reason for not wanting to be there. She squinted back at her girlfriend. “Hold on. Max, did you rewind? Did I say something stupid at the gravesite and you changed your mind about wanting me there?”

Max’s eyes widened. “No!” she said, instantly denying the accusation. Victoria’s squint only became more scrutinizing.

“No what, Maxine?”

“ _No_ , you utter, absolute dork, I haven’t rewound. I promise,” Max repeated her denial, this time even firmer than before. “I still want you there with me. It would mean a lot. But only if _you_ want to be there.” Victoria analyzed her for a few more seconds before eventually releasing the hipster from her glare. If she was lying, which she doubted, then she was doing a pretty damn good job of it.

“Alright then. In that case, yes, I do want to be there if that means supporting you,” Victoria stated plainly, sitting upright. “I know how important this is to you. And it’s not like either of us will have many opportunities to come back here anytime soon.”

It was true. Both girls had already technically graduated from Blackwell already, and they were moving out entirely in only three days. Although Max had promised to visit Chloe’s Mom, Joyce, when she could, Victoria knew that she wouldn’t have many opportunities to come back to Arcadia Bay anytime soon; in three days, they were leaving to go to Seattle, and then in the Fall they were both going to California for university. And, of course, in between that time, Victoria was going to be taking Max on a luxury vacation to France for a couple of months. Just a little trip, really, as a small graduation present; Victoria always found it cute when Max would explode in excitement at just how big the trip seemed in her eyes. While she did try to play it down, Victoria couldn't deny that it was pretty exciting. But the vacation and college immediately afterwards meant not going back to Arcadia Bay for…well, the foreseeable future at least.

“Yeah, I know…” Max said quietly. This whole visit was obviously still a pretty tender spot, but she managed to give Victoria a small, grateful smile in return. “Thanks, Victoria. I…I really appreciate you coming. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want.”

Victoria gave her a lopsided smile. “Well, that would be a little rude to Chloe, wouldn’t it?” she said teasingly. “Besides, I did prepare a few words I wanted to say to her. If you’re okay with me saying them.” She wasn’t going to let those stupid mirror speeches go to waste, damn it.

Max nodded. “Of course. But honestly, just your support would be enough,” she said, sighing as she looked out the window towards the gate of the cemetery. “It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to Chloe. Something about coming to this place…I dunno, it always felt like her spirit was, like, _there_ , watching over and comforting me. It made these visits almost…happy. Like I was reuniting with her each time I sat down in front of her grave. As silly as that sounds.”

Victoria pursed her lips. She couldn’t say she could relate much. She’d never been around dead people or cemeteries all that much. The only funeral Victoria remembered going to in recent memory was, ironically, that of Chloe Price. And she didn’t exactly stay long. But she did know how much Chloe had meant to Max, and how hard it had been on her to lose her. Victoria unfortunately knew that painfully well. So, to have to say goodbye to Chloe… _again_ …was inevitably going to be hard on Max. Victoria understood that part at least.

“It’s not silly. You’re allowed to feel however you want to feel, after everything you’ve gone through,” Victoria said.

Max shrugged. “Yeah, well, it _is_ still silly. It’s not like she’s actually there for me to say goodbye to. But if I can get some closure, that would be great. And if not…” she started to say, but trailed off and paused. Victoria looked at her expectantly, but Max only gave her an apologetic smile. “I just…I really appreciate you coming here for support. I’m probably going to be a mess, just as a warning.”

“And being a mess is also well within your rights, _ma chèrie_ ,” Victoria reassured her, moving her hand up to comfortingly rest on Max’s shoulder. Or, at least, Victoria hoped that it was comforting. It was comforting, wasn’t it? Judging from the slightly bigger smile on Max’s face, Victoria thought that it probably was. Or maybe she just appreciated the French pet name thrown in there, which Victoria knew for a _fact_ was a turn-on for Max. So, if it was going to make this experience any easier for her, Victoria was more than willing to be a good girlfriend and throw a few “oui oui”s Max’s way.

Max leaned forward to rest her forehead on Victoria’s shoulder. “Okay…just, give me a minute,” she said. Victoria tried to keep the concerned look she wanted to give her to herself. Her girlfriend already seemed emotionally exhausted, and they hadn’t even gotten out of the car yet. Victoria liked to see herself as a supportive girlfriend most of the time, but when it came to Max’s postmortem relationship with Chloe, she had no idea how to help. Maybe because her _own_ relationship with the girl was so complicated, too…especially now.

_Get your head out of your own ass, Chase. You’re just here to support Max and help her get some closure. That’s who this is really about._

Victoria looked out the window towards the cemetery. Yes, that was probably a good reminder right now. But for whatever reason, she still couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness in her gut about all of this…

_This isn’t about you. Get over yourself._

Victoria sighed, slinging an arm around Max’s shoulder. She really loved her own brain sometimes.

She wasn’t sure exactly how long they had stayed in the car, but eventually the two of them were out and walking into the cemetery. It was green and rather empty. Victoria certainly didn’t notice any people, only gravestones. She kept a close eye on Max as she led the way, seeming to compose herself fairly well so far – at least on the surface. Only Victoria would have known better. Maybe Chloe would, too, if she were actually here.

Speaking of her, though, Victoria knew they were getting close. They didn’t have to walk long until Max stopped, turning to look out a little bit away towards the headstone she had to assume belonged to the one and only Ms. Price. “H…hi, Chloe,” Max said quietly, keeping her eyes on the ground right in front of her. Victoria stood a little bit behind her, wanting to give her a bit of space. She kept her eyes down at her feet. “It’s me, Max. I brought someone I…would really like you to meet.”

“Max? Who the…oh, _shit_.”

Victoria jumped, whipping her eyes up to look around. Who said that? She looked behind them with a furrowed brow, but…there was no one there. Scrunching her face up, she looked back at the grave and—

“So, I guess you weren’t joking. You really did settle for the Queen Bitch of Blackwell.”

Stepping out from behind the gravestone was a figure in a familiar-looking beanie, ripped jeans, and a dirty tank-top with…dyed-blue hair.

Victoria’s jaw might as well have fallen completely off. Standing in front of her, eyeing her suspiciously…was Chloe Price. And she was _translucent_.

Chloe’s fucking ghost was speaking to her.

“Chloe…this is Victoria,” Max introduced her, although Victoria was barely able to register what she had said due to the literal specter standing in front of them with her arms crossed, unamused.

_Holy shit, holy shit, HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT—_

“Well, this better be good. Can’t say I’m exactly pleased to see _you_ , though…” Chloe started to say. Her voice was echoey, as if she were speaking to Victoria from the inside of a cave. The ghost squinted at her as Victoria remained frozen in shock and fear.

“I know, I know…I can totally picture what you’d say now,” Max continued, chuckling slightly as she put her hands in her hoodie pockets. Victoria’s eyes darted towards her for a second – she looked completely unphased. She wasn’t even looking at the actual, literal ghost standing in front of her. Victoria’s mouth hung open lamely, looking back at Chloe, then her girlfriend, then Chloe, then her girlfriend, then—

“Wait, whoa. Hold the fucking phone.” Victoria’s eyes snapped back to Chloe as she saw the ghost’s expression change from one of suspicion to shock. Chloe locked eyes with her, studying her even more intently now to the point that Victoria stumbled back a pace.

“But…this isn’t about what happened in the past. Victoria’s different now…she might as well be an entire different person,” Max said, smiling to herself in a world entirely removed from the stare-off between Victoria and the ghost of Chloe Price. Chloe remained standing bewildered in front of a petrified Victoria, almost as if she were afraid to make a move herself.

As Max finished her sentence, Chloe waved her hand in front of Victoria’s face. “Uh…boo?”

Victoria nearly screamed in terror. Chloe’s instincts were sharper, though, and before she was able to let it out she hissed at the girl in order to silence her. “No, no, no! Shut up!” Chloe told her in a voice that commanded attention. Victoria’s mouth shut with a small, frightened noise. “You can see me? You can actually _see_ me??” she asked. Victoria was about to open her mouth and respond, but Chloe shushed her again. “NO! Don’t talk! Just…just _fucking_ nod that you can see me.”

“So…I’d like you to meet her. Chloe, this is Victoria. My girlfriend, in the flesh,” Max said. Victoria, right behind her, slowly nodded. Chloe let out a scream of anger.

“Jesus FUCK! Fucking Christ! Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and Max tied up on a FUCKING cross! You can…AAGH, what the absolute FUCK is happening…” Chloe started pulling at her hair and pacing frantically…on top of her own grave. She seemed pretty agitated…but not as agitated as Victoria was at that moment. Her palms felt clammy and she felt herself shaking as Max turned over to her.

“Tori, do you want to say a few…uh, Victoria?” The concern in Max’s voice was only barely able to get Victoria’s attention. Victoria whipped her head over to Max, who tilted her head at her. It’s like she wasn’t even acknowledging that there was anyone else there…

“Max can’t see me,” Chloe said suddenly, echoing the silent, mental conclusion that Victoria came to herself. “She doesn’t know I’m here – she _can’t_ know I’m here or else she’ll freak! Just. Act. Natural.” She growled at her.

Victoria gulped. She wasn’t about to question the threatening ghost in front of her. “U-uh! Yeah! I-I’m fine!” she tried to say, not being convincing at all. Max furrowed her brow as Chloe facepalmed.

“I didn’t even…” Max started to say, but she shook her head, sighing. “Never mind. I was going to ask, do you want to say a few words?”

“Yes. _Please_. Trust me, Chase, I’m _dying_ to hear what you have to say,” Chloe drawled out sarcastically, crossing her arms. Victoria shuddered. The practice in the mirror wasn’t exactly going to help her now; when she agreed to go visit Chloe’s grave, she hadn’t been expecting _the grave to be talking back to her._

“Uh. Yeah. D-definitely,” Victoria said in a hoarser voice than she anticipated. She cleared her throat. “W-well then…hello, Chloe. Hey. Fancy seeing…uhh, so anyway, I just wanted to say a few words.” Well, it was official: this was somehow going even worse than how it went in the mirror earlier.

“Great. Whatever. Don’t give a shit,” Chloe said in response. “What I need you to do, Vicky, is to keep it short and listen. And _don’t_ act suspicious and let Max know.”

That was easier said than done. Victoria could barely keep herself together right now, much less talk and listen to a ghost give her orders at the same time. And given the look Max was giving her, Victoria had a feeling that she was almost certainly acting suspicious. “W-well then! I…I really don’t know where to start.” _Hmm, how about by actually getting a coherent sentence out so as not to tick off Max, yeah?_ Between Chloe’s berating, Max’s uneasiness, and Victoria’s own mental self-deprecation, to say this was going worse than expected would be an understatement. “I’m so overwhelmed, it almost feels like I’m actually talking to you in person…”

“Har, har. Watch it,” Chloe warned, glaring daggers at her. “Just listen. I’ve been trapped here for nearly a year at this point and in all the time people have come to visit me – Max, that Christian friend of hers, Joyce, whoever – _none_ of them have been able to see me. You’re the first. At least, you’re the first ‘person’ I can actually talk to. I’m not getting into _that_ right now.” Chloe sighed frustratedly. “Hey. You’re supposed to keep talking.”

Victoria was really trying her best, but because of the difficult circumstances she wasn’t having the best of times. She cleared her throat again at the reminder. “I know that…well, we n-never interacted much. I don’t think we have anything in…we were really different from each other. We are almost like opposites, I think…”

“And, while I would honestly prefer to be talking to David fucking Madsen over _you_ …I’ll take what I can get,” Chloe continued. Victoria flinched, and had to bite her tongue in order to stop herself from saying anything she would regret and have Max think she were crazy and/or cruel.

“But…b-but, you know, we _do_ have one thing in common…” Victoria started to say. The ghost of Chloe Price rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, here’s what you’re going to do. You’re gonna wrap up whatever…whatever _this_ is, and fast, because I’m not sure how much I can take of this shit,” she said, gesturing at Victoria’s performance rudely. “Then you’re gonna give Max the floor, because I actually care about what she has to say. And _then_ , once _she’s_ done, you’re gonna make up an excuse to stay here and have her walk back. Say you want to have a few more personal words with me, or you need to grieve, or you just wanna piss on my grave or whatever the fuck – I. Don’t. Care. But I _need_ to talk with you alone so you can actually give me some sort of explanation.”

“I know that we both…we, um…” Explanation? _SHE_ wanted an explanation??

“I know I’m not supposed to be here!” Chloe talked over her. “I don’t know what’s _supposed_ to happen when you die, but I sure as hell know it’s not this unnatural, voodoo ghost grave-haunting shit! I literally can’t leave my own fucking grave! I _can’t_ be stuck here forever. And you – _you_ being able to talk to me here is about the biggest fucking lead I’ve had in a while.” She continued to pace on her grave exasperatedly. “Just what exactly is it about you? _Huh_?! What makes you so hella special that you, _you_ , the bitch to end all bitches, get to see me??? You…this has to…you have to know something I don’t, there’s no way…”

Victoria stopped talking at this point. She didn’t know if Chloe was really still talking to her or just muttering in disbelief to herself now, but she had just about reached the limit of how much she was able to handle. This was all too much. “I-I-I’m sorry, I c-can’t do this!” Victoria blurted out, interrupting Chloe’s ramblings and her own eulogy to turn away. Max jumped next to her at the sudden explosion.

“HEY! What the hell?!?” Chloe shouted, although her screams only made Victoria clutch her head and begin to walk away from her grave.

“Victoria? Tori, wait, please!” Victoria heard Max beg as the sounds of footsteps followed closely behind. She almost stopped, but another call from the gravesite only made her quicken her pace:

“WE’RE NOT FUCKING DONE HERE, CHASE!” The ghost of Chloe Price yelled after her, waving her middle finger in the air at her. “Oh, I am gonna HELLA haunt you when I get out of here! BIIITCH!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey! If you've made it this far, thank you for reading! I might not be too new to the LiS fandom but this is my first time attempting to write a LiS fanfic. So sorry if the characters here seem a little OOC in this first chapter - I'm still getting used to writing for them for one, but also at this point in the story they are also quite different from where they were in the game (particularly Victoria). This story is going to have a bit of a non-linear narrative, so I'll be explaining how those changes and character developments occurred in a way that is (hopefully) satisfying!
> 
> Just as a forewarning because I don't want to mislead anyone, this fic is primarily going to be Chasefield, and obviously Pricefield is a pretty important factor in driving this story. But even somewhat more importantly than that is the (platonic) relationship between Victoria and Chloe, the latter of whom is going to be a very major character in this story. I'm sorry to disappoint anyone who is looking for a fix-it fic that wants to combine the best of both endings; this story takes place after Max sacrificed Chloe, and she's going to be staying dead. But even though she may have died, Chloe Price is too damn stubborn to stay out of this story ;) 
> 
> To be honest I'm still figuring out exactly how long I want this to be and how much time and investment I want to put into this. I am busy writing the second chapter of this now, and I have some plans for the next few chapters after that. If you liked this fic though, let me know by leaving a kudos and/or a comment! I would love to hear anyone's thoughts. Thanks again and have a great day! :)


	2. The Price of Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: some references to suicidal thoughts in this chapter. If that upsets you, then you may want to skip some parts of this. Take care of yourselves everyone!!

Chloe Price was alive. Then she was dead. And then, she was…well, she was still trying to figure that part out.

The confusion started the moment she lost consciousness after being shot by Nathan Prescott. Chloe didn’t know if the bullet had killed her instantly or if her body was able to hold on for a little bit after, but at some point she died and she ended up here. She was falling – or maybe she was floating? – in a blank void. Nothing around her for her to see or latch onto. No puffy clouds and angels strumming on harps. No red flames, torture chambers, or devils with pitchforks poking at her, either. Chloe didn’t really care if she was in Heaven or Hell, though. She just needed _something_ to help ground her and give her a sense of what was going on.

And that’s when the memories of the week that never was started flooding back.

Chloe certainly hadn’t remembered them in the bathroom, when they would have actually been useful, but she was remembering them now. Instead of being shot, Max had saved her life through rewinding time and pulling the fire alarm. That gave Chloe the chance to knee the asshole in the balls and get the hell out of there. Then she reunited with Max. They played around with her newfound powers some…but even at the time, somehow Chloe knew that it was too good to be true.

Then they found Rachel. And the dark room. And the freak time storm…and finally, the difficult decision Max had to make to fix it. Save Chloe’s life, or the lives of everyone in Arcadia Bay. One person versus thousands. 

…oh, and she also remembered kissing a now grown-up Max not one, but _two_ times. Despite her circumstances, that thought coming back to her made Chloe grin. _Heeeell yeah._

 _Focus._ She shook herself out of the memory. So, Chloe really _did_ remember everything from that timeline. But she also remembered getting shot. Ouch. That was definitely going to sting later… _oh wait, no it wasn’t. Because I’m pretty sure I’m already dead_ , Chloe thought sardonically to herself. There was no pain for her to feel when she was numb to everything else around her.

So, she had died. Then survived. Then died again. She remembered all of it somehow, from surviving the gunshot wound once to dying to it…twice. How she had memories of the week before the storm with Max, Chloe wasn’t exactly sure. But just like with Max’s powers to rewind time, she thought it best not to question it; after all, she had a few more pressing matters to attend to. Chief among which being where the absolute fuck she was.

It was empty. Just a blank, white void. She was entirely alone and couldn’t see anything around her. Chloe shuddered as a terrifying thought crossed her mind: this could be it. Maybe this was the afterlife, where she was trapped alone in a void with only her thoughts for all eternity. Panic started to rise in her noncorporeal being at the thought.

“Hey! Hellooooo??” Chloe called out desperately into the endless abyss. Her echoes seemed to fall on deaf ears…or, more accurately, no ears. She considered trying to call out for her Dad or Rachel…but something about her voice seemed so hollow and unnatural that she didn’t feel comfortable trying it out again. She just wished someone, anyone else was here…

And that was when she saw it: a speck of blue in the otherwise completely white void. It was impossible to miss, and given her surroundings, it stuck out like a sore thumb. Gradually, Chloe made her way towards it by…floating…or gliding…something like that.

The closer she got to it, the more focused her view of the speck became. It was some sort of bird – no. A blue butterfly. It fluttered peacefully in the void alongside Chloe, but it almost seemed as if it was flying towards her. Seeing as how there was nothing else there, Chloe felt drawn to the butterfly like a moth to a flame…which was as appropriate an analogy as she could come up with.

Chloe stopped in front of it as the butterfly soared around her, almost as if it were inspecting her. She held out her index finger and, gracefully, the butterfly flew down and landed on it.

That’s when the world around her changed.

The butterfly flew away, and Chloe was blinded by a bright light – which should have been difficult to do, given that she was in a white void beforehand. As she squinted, her surroundings became much clearer and she was able to piece together that she was, in fact, somewhere other than an empty vacuum. There was a sky above her, for one, and a ground beneath her feet for another. And in front her was…

“… _Max_?” Chloe said, taken completely off guard.

Sure enough, her childhood friend was suddenly standing a few feet in front of her, her eyes downcast. She was wearing all black for some reason, almost as if she were at a…a funeral.

Next to her, there was Joyce, crying into David’s shoulder. Chloe even saw some other people in the distance standing a bit further from her, all wearing a similar getup. She thought she even recognized that Chase bitch dressed all in black, her back turned as she walked away from her. Everyone looked sad…like, _hella_ sad.

And that’s when Chloe got a sinking feeling in her gut as she slowly turned around and saw a slab of rock with her own name on it. And right in front of _that_ was a hole that was slowly being buried in dirt by men with shovels.

“FUCK!” Chloe cursed, jumping up from the ground as she felt her breaths going quicker. She peered over the hole in front of her, and there it was: her _fucking coffin_. Or, at least, she assumed it was her coffin. Who else’s coffin would it be? Because unless she read that name on the gravestone wrong, that sure as shit _was_ her name.

A fact that forced Chloe Price to confront a morbid, uncomfortable truth that was only further reinforced by the piles of dirt currently being thrown down on her resting place: she was almost certainly dead. And she had been late to her own fucking funeral.

Of course, the first fact was more relevant to her current freak out right about now.

The sounds of sobbing from behind her made Chloe turn around. Joyce was having a particularly difficult time. But Max, ever the stoic, had managed to somewhat keep herself together – although even she had a few tears in her eyes.

Chloe tried to move forward to get closer to them, but only a few steps away from her grave and she felt as if she had hit an invisible wall. Grunting, she tried her best to push past it, but it was no use – she couldn’t get closer to them if she tried. If either Max or Joyce had seen or heard Chloe as she stood only a few feet away from them, neither acknowledged her.

“Max? Max!” Chloe called out. If anyone could have helped or heard her at that moment, it sure as hell would have been her. She already knew that Max Caulfield had _some_ sort of crazy connection to the supernatural with her time powers, so surely there was something here that could be her saving grace…so far, though, there was nothing.

“MAX! Please, I’m right here!” Chloe begged for her acknowledgement, hearing her own voice echo and crack with desperation. Max seemed to stiffen up at Chloe’s yell, her expression changing for a brief moment as her eyes widened. She had felt something. What, exactly, Chloe wasn’t sure, but it was subtle enough to light a spark of hope for her.

But the hope was doused as soon as Max’s expression changed, and her grief rose from beneath the surface. Tears welled up in the young woman’s eyes as she put a hand to her mouth, her body shaking with the first sob. All while keeping her eyes unfocused and certainly not looking at Chloe.

Max couldn’t see her. She couldn’t hear her. “Max…I-I’m right…h-here…” Chloe repeated. Max only responded with another sob. Next to her, Joyce moved down to pull Max into her arms. Max closed her eyes and did not so much as look in Chloe’s direction. She was there. But in the eyes of all of the people who had come here to mourn, Chloe Price was six feet underground now.

Chloe tried to push past the invisible barrier to get closer to them, only to be met yet again with the force of an immovable object. Chloe crumpled to the ground, feeling…or, whatever the ghost equivalent to feeling, her own tears begin to trickle down her face. For the first time in many years, she felt the desperate need for a hug from her mother.

Joyce walked away, with David following her. Chloe thought that even he had some tears in his eyes. The small circle of people who were standing off to the side of her grave were slowly leaving. Even the men with the shovels, Chloe realized, had finished digging her grave as they patted it down solemnly and left. She wasn’t sure exactly how long everyone was taking to leave – maybe keeping track of time was a weird ghost thing – but sooner or later, the only person left with her was a crying, shivering Max.

Chloe desperately wanted to reach out and hold her. To try to tell her, somehow, that she was _still here_. Maybe if she yelled loud and for long enough, she thought, Max would finally hear her and look up from the ground and rescue her…

…but she didn’t get the chance to try.

“I-I’m s-s-sorry, Chloe…” Max said with a whimper, wiping her face as she stepped away from the grave. Chloe’s eyes widened in alarm.

“No, no, NO! MAX!” Chloe panicked and tried to move forward, but she couldn’t.

“I-I…” Max stiffened, her features contorting into a sorrowful grimace. “I love you. I will _always_ love you.” And then, she didn’t just walk away – she _ran_.

“N-no!” Chloe wailed, holding out a hand to try to stop her – too little, too late. Her shoulders slumped as the ghost crumpled in on herself. “P-please…d-don’t leave me here…”

With no one around to see or not see her in the cemetery, Chloe sobbed, falling onto the ground in front of her grave. She had only seriously prayed once in her life – after her Dad died and Max had left for Seattle, she prayed to the God she didn’t believe in to have everything go back to normal again.

Now, not knowing what to believe, Chloe Price prayed for the first time in her afterlife to make this all go away.

* * *

It was not until the next day when the sun began to rise that Chloe finally got up from the ground. The start of a new day was the proof that she needed that no, this wasn't some weird, fucked up dream, and no, whatever was happening to her wasn't going away anytime soon. So, the least she could do in her mind was try to stop pitying herself and make some sort of sense of her surroundings.

As she wiped away the dried tears from her face (how did that work, exactly?), Chloe turned over to look at the grave on her left: William Price. Her father. She wasn't too surprised by that; she figured it was fairly common for family members to be buried close together, after all. What did confuse, not to mention disappoint, her was that she couldn’t see any ghost overtop his grave. In fact, the entire damn graveyard was empty and ghost-free, outside of her. Why was _she_ so damn special that she got to be a ghost? Because if it was some sort of special surprise offer that came when time shenanigans were involved, then Chloe wanted to fucking rewind because she wanted a hella refund.

 _Or…maybe there ARE other ghosts here, and I just can’t see them? Like the outside world can’t see me?_ That would have been…depressing, to say the least. Chloe slowly turned over to the grave of her father next to her. “Hey, uh, Dad?” she asked him lamely. No response. “Yeah, well, if you’re trapped in your own personal hell watching me and I just can’t see you for some bullshit reason…just know that I’m, um, doing just swell. Gucci, even. Having the time of my…not-life. Whatever you want to call this.” Still no response.

Sitting down and resting her back against her grave, Chloe sighed to herself. If her father wasn’t going to respond now, then he probably wasn’t going to respond ever. Meaning she was stuck here alone. Bored out of her mind.

The crunching of leaves in the distance made her jump. It might have barely even been a day yet, but she had already gotten so used to the relative quiet of the cemetery that the sudden noise stood out. Or maybe it was just a ghost thing. Regardless, Chloe could tell someone was coming. She turned around to see…

Chloe groaned. For some reason, she was hoping to find Max. But it was just some dumb deer.

The deer – a female deer, she noted – sniffed at the fallen leaves nearby, slowly walking towards her. Sometimes it lifted its head up from the ground and looked out in the distance…

“…aaaaand this was the moment Chloe Price realized she had nothing better to do than catalog the movements of animals,” she narrated to herself sardonically. She turned away from the doe. “Why couldn’t I have been able to do the _fun_ ghost shit, like haunting my enemies with ectoplasm or flicking the lights or whatever…”

She lazily turned her head back to the doe…only to find it staring directly at her.

Gasping to herself, Chloe suddenly found herself having a very good reason to pay attention to the deer. “Shit…hey, girl. Can you actually see me? Or are you just seeing through me?” she mused to herself, waving her hand around in front of her. Chloe watched in amazement as the deer’s gaze followed her hand curiously, only to eventually stop and make eye contact with her again. The deer could definitely see her. And that was probably the first time since Chloe realized she was dead that she actually smiled.

…but the novelty somewhat wore off when the doe yawned, lay down in front of the grave, and fell asleep. Kind of a neat phenomenon, but…practically speaking, it was fairly useless. It’s not like the deer was going to open its mouth and start talking to her, after all.

Chloe sighed to herself as she settled back down against her gravestone, taking just a little bit of comfort in the sleeping doe. “Well…at least your company is better than nothing, my deer.”

* * *

As the days blended into one another, Chloe gradually figured out that no other animals could see her. There had been a small sparrow that had landed on her gravestone that she had tried her damnedest to harass, but unfortunately it didn’t seem to get any sort of message that a ghostly presence was there. So, it turned out Chloe couldn’t even talk to animals, plural; just a single deer.

But the deer was a sweetheart, so that made up for the hella lame ghost power in Chloe’s opinion. It visited her quite a lot, and even though the majority of its actions were limited to staring at her or sleeping next to her, Chloe appreciated the doe’s presence. Even though she didn’t understand it, or why the deer was so skittish that it ran away moments before anyone else would come by.

Today, the deer was nowhere in sight as a large crowd of people flocked into the cemetery. And Chloe quickly realized what they were there for: the first people in the procession after the people carrying the coffin were James and Rose Amber. After months of searching, they’d finally found Rachel.

Chloe wasn’t too surprised to see the many, many, _many_ people that showed up to Rachel’s funeral. Rachel, perhaps the most popular and well-connected person in the entire shithole known as Arcadia Bay, sure as hell would have had more people mourn her than the antisocial high-school dropout. Chloe couldn’t help but feel a twinge of classic jealousy at that…but then again, she was thankful that at least some people showed up to her own funeral; even if some of the people who came like Bitch-toria didn’t stay too long. And whatever vague feeling of jealousy she might have had passed quickly as it was replaced with disappointment when they lowered Rachel’s coffin into the ground…no ghost. No trace of her at all.

Not that it would have mattered much for Chloe, seeing as how she still couldn’t walk more than a few feet away from her grave. She couldn’t even properly pay her respects outside of creepily watching the funeral procession as they passed her. Chloe’s relationship with Rachel was…complicated, to put it mildly. She doubted that Mr. or Mrs. Amber would have even wanted her to show up to the funeral, if she were alive to see it happen. But as much as Chloe hated to admit it, she _still_ couldn’t help but love the girl that came into her life like a wildfire. Sometimes literally. She would do anything to give Rachel a proper goodbye, if not just see her one more time.

Speaking of important people in her life, though…Chloe immediately spotted Max near the back of the crowd as the procession made its way through. Max was wearing something similar to the getup she had on for her own funeral, and goddamn was it classy. But Chloe’s attention wasn’t exactly on that at the moment, as she was more concerned with the figuratively dead and weary look on the young woman’s face.

To Chloe’s relief, Max didn’t stay around Rachel’s funeral for long and instead made her way back to her. She had a small arrangement of blue flowers in her hands and Chloe stood up at attention as soon as she came close.

“H…h-hey Chloe,” Max said quietly as she kept her eyes on the tombstone. Even getting those words out seemed to be a struggle for her as she walked forward and put the flowers down by Chloe’s feet. “I-I brought these for you. I gave some to Rachel, but…well. I never really knew her anyway, and lots of people brought her flowers already. So I thought I’d give you some.”

Chloe was _so_ close to her now. So close she could potentially even touch her. Max was inside the barrier now, but it was almost as if the invisible walls around Chloe had constricted even further, making her rooted to the ground. She was unable to move forward to Max, despite how much she desperately wanted to hold her right now. “Dammit…” Chloe gritted her teeth. Well, the least she could do was look down at the flowers. “Those flowers look…hella pretty. Thanks, Max.”

Max didn’t respond, obviously. “We finally got justice for Rachel. Not just in the last timeline, but this one, too,” she continued, her voice shaking. “Nathan cracked and spilled the beans as soon as he was arrested. They got Jefferson and they found the dark room, which was full of both of their prints. It…it looks like they’re both going to jail for a while. I don’t even think Mr. Prescott is going to be able to bail his son out for this. Being an accomplice to murder, and…and _actual_ murder…those are serious crimes that they won’t be able to brush away.”

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s good at least. Hope those fuckers rot,” she said, already feeling much more relaxed with Max so near to her. Even if Max was only pretending to talk to her, it felt somewhat nice to talk back. Although when Chloe looked closer at the girl’s expression, Max didn’t seem to be enjoying this conversation very much at all.

“I…know that this should mean justice for you, too, but I—” Max started to say, but her voice cracked. “This…it all feels so _wrong_ , Chloe. You weren’t supposed to die. You’re supposed to be here, with me! After all this time, right after you and I…” Max stopped herself from whatever she was about to say to sigh. “It’s not…i-it’s not _fair_ …”

The ghost awkwardly shoved her hands in her pockets. Max was right, of course. It _wasn’t_ fair. “Yeah…I guess you’re right. But it is what it is,” Chloe said back to her. “As much of a steaming pile of shit Arcadia Bay is, no one here deserved to die. You made the only decision that made sense and I—”

“I-I think I regret what I did.”

Chloe froze as soon as Max unintentionally interrupted her. _Hold up, WHAT?_ Max gripped onto her arms as she shuddered. “I-I…sometimes I think about what could have happened if I just ripped up that photo on the cliff,” Max admitted quietly. “A-and I…if I still had that photo, I can’t promise that I wouldn’t go back and redo that decision again.”

“Max…” Chloe breathed out her name, her insides constricting with so many conflicting emotions.

Max sighed. “I don’t have the photo anymore. But I still can’t help but think about if I did it,” she continued, the ghost of a…or rather, something similar to a ghost of a smile forming on her face. “We…we could’ve built a life together, you know? We could’ve taken your truck and gone on a road trip. Gone to California, like you wanted to do with Rachel. Or…anywhere, really. The world could’ve been our oyster. Just the two of us, traveling around, young and…in love?” Chloe’s heart swelled at that. Even if it was too late for her to fully enjoy the word, it still felt _super_ fucking nice to hear. “Maybe, after a while, we could’ve even found a small town to settle down in. If I could keep you in a single place for long enough.” Max let out a chuckle at the last sentence. Chloe couldn’t help but smile at the thought, too.

Max’s smile faltered as she kept talking, however. “B-but…then I start thinking about Joyce. And Warren. And…and Kate, who I spent so much energy trying to save. And so, _so_ many others. I-I don’t…I don’t know if I could have ever lived with myself if I allowed them to just _die_ because of what I did…”

Chloe was about to tell Max, _again_ , that she had made the right decision, but Max talked over her before she could even get a word out. “B-but now, I also don’t know if I can live without you, either,” she said in a wavering voice. “It’s all still so…fucked. And I’m not sure how much more I can take of this…I-I’m sorry, Chloe.”

“M-max…no…” Chloe tried to reach out to her, but she still couldn’t. Max looked away from the grave and began to turn away from her. “Max, I’m HERE, dammit! You can’t just say shit like that and walk away!”

But she already was.

* * *

“Like, how the hell am I supposed to ‘rest in peace’ when she lays THAT shit on me?!” Chloe vented to her deer companion a few days after Max had visited. Or maybe a week. She wasn’t sure exactly how long it had been. Not that it really mattered since time was all fucked for her anyway at this point.

But the anxiety Chloe had felt over Max’s departing words had eaten her up inside ever since, and with no way of contacting her to see if she was okay, her only coping mechanism right now was to talk to the doe, who had come back after everyone from Rachel’s funeral had left. The doe didn’t seem to mind, though, as it inquisitively lifted its head up to listen to Chloe’s latest anxious ramblings.

“Rest in peace? Ha! More like I’m hella _restless_ in peace! How am I supposed to sleep forever when I know Max is thinking all of that shit?” Chloe groaned, repeating the same sentiment she had stated over and over again since Max’s last visit. “Jesus Christ…speaking of which, I could REALLY use your help, asshole!” Chloe kicked at the ground in front of her grave. “FUCK! I can’t just _stay_ here! Not when Max is out there the way I saw her!” she groaned. “I just need to talk to her. I _need_ to find a way to talk to her, to tell her that it’s alright. I’m here, so there’s no reason for her to be sad! That would make her feel better. Right?” She turned to the deer.

The deer tilted its head at her, blinking. “One blink? That’s all you’re giving me, dude?” Chloe grumbled, sitting back down on the ground. “Hmph. And you don’t even have the decency to tell me what that means. Does one blink mean yes?” The deer blinked again. Chloe sighed, kicking at (and failing to make contact with) a stone at her feet. “Yeah. Figures.”

“I’m sorry, I thought you might have preferred it if I didn’t say anything,” a gruff, male’s voice said to her.

Chloe let out a yelp as she jumped back. Chloe looked back and forth to see if any other ghost had just happened to sneak up on her…before her eyes settled back at the deer sitting across from her. It tilted its head at her curiously. Unless that was God or some shit, there wasn’t anyone else around to say that. _Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable…oh, fuck it. This is ghost shit we’re talking about, anything’s fair game at this point._

“You can talk?” Chloe confirmed with the deer. It sat up as it looked skeptically at her. For a moment, Chloe thought she had begun to hallucinate; it wouldn’t have surprised her too much at this point, after all. But that was when the deer decided to open its mouth.

“…to you, yes,” the deer replied evenly, in the same male voice that had spoken earlier. Chloe gawked.

“How the – WHY am I just learning about this now?!” Chloe demanded incredulously. The deer, seemingly indifferent, decided that now would be a good time to lie back down.

“You never asked,” he said plainly as he settled his head back on the ground, closing his eyes.

“Oh, _fuck_ no. You do NOT get to sleep on me after dropping this shit,” Chloe snapped at the…male…doe? She had about a million questions at the moment, but questioning the gender of the talking deer was probably the last on her list. “I need answers. And _you’re_ going to give ‘em to me.”

The deer breathed out of his nose as if to sigh, lifting his head up again to look back at Chloe. “If I had any good answers for you, do you not think I would have said something at this point?” he asked. “My only purpose here is to keep you company. I’m afraid I don’t have much more information than that.”

“Keep me company?” Chloe echoed, her brow furrowing. “No, wait, hold on. There’s gotta be more to that. Why are you keeping me company?”

The deer paused. “There is…someone you once knew who has transcended this plane of existence,” he said slowly, seemingly having to choose his words carefully. “They heard your spirit crying out in pain. And so they sent me to attempt to ease your pain while you are trapped here.”

“Transcended this plane of…are you saying someone who’s dead?” she asked, gradually trying to put together the puzzle pieces being thrown at her. “Someone who’s dead who knew me told you to come find me?”

“From your perspective, that might be the most helpful way of describing things,” the deer said. Chloe’s mind couldn’t help but immediately jump to who it could have been…unfortunately, she couldn’t narrow it down to only one.

“Was it…okay, did you get a name? Or, like, a gender? Did they have blonde hair? Or were they a cat? Or—”

“It doesn’t work like that. Communication with the spirit world is different from communication between you and I here,” he interrupted, one of his ears flicking slightly in annoyance. He let out another huff as he addressed Chloe. “The spirits do not exist alongside us; they exist in a realm far beyond our comprehension and understanding. As such, I did not actually meet whoever sent me. I have no idea who they are. I was only relayed their message by whatever connection to this world they still have.”

Chloe furrowed her brow. Sure, she wanted answers, but this was getting close to information overload. “Okay, back up. So this spirit or whatever contacted you…with what? Like, a fucking telegram or something?”

The deer shook his head. “It’s just a feeling. They don’t communicate through words as plainly as you or I. They merely convey…longing. I would be unable to describe it any other way.”

 _Damn, this talking deer’s getting hella deep, even if it’s hella un-useful right now_. “And you decided to follow that feeling…because…?”

The deer laid his head back on the ground. “Because that is my role, and I am here to fulfill it,” he said, as if it was the simplest answer in the entire world. He began to close his eyes as if to sleep again, but Chloe still had questions.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, no, I’m still asking shit!” Chloe protested. Grunting, the deer slowly lifted his head back up, squinting back at her.

“I want to sleep.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and I want to un-die, but I guess we can’t have what we want, can we?” she said sarcastically. “But on the subject of that. You said spirits communicate differently than you and me. Well, what the fuck does that make _me_? Am I _not_ a spirit?”

“You are a spirit. But you are not one with their world yet,” the deer answered. This answer was, yet again, extremely unhelpful for Chloe.

“Great. Makes total sense. So tell me, how do I get ‘one with their world’?” Chloe asked. The deer flopped back onto the ground with a tired expression.

“And how am I supposed to know that?” he asked.

“Because YOU’RE THE HELLA TALKING DEER!” Chloe yelled, just about at her limit. “Are you SERIOUSLY telling me you have zero answers for me?!”

“Whatever answers you want, I don’t have them for you. It doesn’t work like that,” the deer repeated flatly, squinting back at Chloe. “This is why I thought you would have preferred me to remain silent. If we could go back to that, then—”

Right as Chloe was about to retort something at him, the deer’s eyes widened and his ears perked up. After remaining frozen for a few seconds, he was suddenly on his feet. “Someone’s coming,” he said simply, and before Chloe could even question it, he bolted. Just like usual, but this time, of course, there was the added knowledge that the deer could _fucking talk_.

“Well, THANKS FOR NOTHING!” Chloe yelled after him angrily, standing up as she berated the air. “Yeah, what a _great_ idea, sending that fucking deer, whoever you are. Was it you, Rachel? I mean, sending me a talking deer to keep me company is probably hella stupid enough to be your idea—”

Chloe stopped her frustrated ramblings as she heard the crunches of leaves getting closer. The deer was, at least, right – there _was_ someone coming. It wasn’t so uncommon that the cemetery would get a visitor or two every now and then; lots of people were buried here, after all. But the sounds were coming closer and closer to her. And it didn’t take long for Chloe to see who it was.

“H…h-hi, Chloe…” Max said quietly as she walked up to the grave. As Chloe got a closer look at her, her worst suspicions were only confirmed: Max looked even _worse_ than the last time she visited. Her face looked gaunt, her eyes were practically bloodshot – Chloe could only presume from a lack of sleep, and she was gripping her arms and shivering as she walked forward. Chloe’s fears were only compounded when Max fell to her knees, keeping her head down.

“Max?! What’s going on?” she asked her, even though she knew the girl couldn’t hear her. Chloe tried to move closer to get a better look at her concealed face, but the invisible barrier once again constricted her. “Come on! Talk to me here!”

Chloe heard Max audibly shudder, her head moving up to look at the gravestone with tears streaming down her face. “I-I…I can’t…keep…doing this anymore…” Max mumbled. Reaching her hands out, she gripped onto the ground, tantalizingly close to where Chloe was standing. “I can’t think straight…I can’t eat…I can’t take photos anymore, and I can’t even sleep without thinking about Jefferson, or the storm, or…I-I just, I feel so, _so_ alone, Chloe…”

“No…you’re not alone! I’m here, Max! I’m _here_!” Chloe tried, even though she knew too well by this point that it wasn’t going to work. She crouched down, practically at eye-level to her. But Max wasn’t looking at her.

“We saved the Bay…we brought Jefferson and Nathan to justice…b-but…without you here, none of it’s worth it.”

“DAMN IT, Caulfield, don’t make me repeat myself!” Chloe yelled, feeling her own eyes well up with tears.

“Everything just seems so… _pointless_ ,” Max wiped her face with the sleeve of her hoodie, sniffling. “My heart needs you. _I need you_! A-and…and I wish I could just get you here with my powers without me hurting anyone like I always do…but we both know that’s not possible. So…I’ve come up with the next best thing. Everything else from that fucked up week’s been erased, so…it only makes sense that I go, too.”

A dead silence filled the cemetery as Max’s words fully sunk in with the ghost. Chloe, sitting down, could only watch numbly as Max lowered her head down to meet the ground beneath her, and then go back up as she shakily got to her feet.

“I love you, Chloe Price,” Max said in a wavering voice. A smile that didn’t reach her eyes slowly formed on her face. “I’ll…I’ll be with you soon, my partner in time.”

Chloe, stunned into silence, couldn’t even find the right words to say back. But that didn’t mean the grim implication of her words was lost on her. As Max began to walk away, the ghost bolted upright. “No!” Chloe tried to step forward to follow her to no avail. She choked on a sob of her own. “No, Max! Y-you can’t! You CAN’T! COME BACK!”

But Max’s figure was already walking away, further and further until Chloe could no longer see her. If she had been able to hear the loud cries coming from her grave, then maybe she would have turned around and come back – but instead, Chloe was left alone. Again. Crying and screaming out all of her anger, frustrations, and worries.

_This isn’t how I wanted to reunite with you, Max…please, PLEASE be safe…_

* * *

Chloe had spent hours crying alone to herself after Max’s visit. Worryingly pulling at her hair and biting her fingernails. Attempting to kick whatever object she could make contact with, which was, of course, none of them. Chloe had about ninety-nine problems and no way to solve a single one. Especially not the most pressing one: Maxine Caulfield.

From the moment she had seen her trying to put on a tough face at her grave, Chloe knew that Max wasn’t taking her decision too well. Her grief was clear at day, but so was her guilt; Chloe recognized the same sad look in her eyes when they first reunited after five years of no contact. Chloe had been pissed when she first picked Max up in the truck, sure, but after getting a little bit of snark out of the way she had genuinely tried to cool down because of just how bummed out Max had been. She already looked like she had shot a puppy or something, so Chloe decided it probably would be best to give her a break.

Now, though, every time that Max had visited her, she had looked like she’d been the one who pulled the trigger on her. Which was obviously bullshit, and Chloe would’ve told Max that it was bullshit a million times to drill that thought out of her head if she could _actually talk to her_. But she couldn’t. And so all Chloe could do now was desperately pray to God, if that jackass was still somehow listening to her, that Max wouldn’t suddenly appear as another ghost in the grave next to her.

The crunch of leaves in the night startled Chloe out of her train of thought. For a brief moment, she hoped it might be Max, running back to her with a smile on her face just to say that it turned out she was doing just super after all. But of course it wasn’t, because that would have been ridiculous. To her disappointment, it was just the deer again.

“Ugh. What the hell do you want?” Chloe spat at the male-sounding doe, scowling. “You know, you got a hella lot less cute once I figured out you could talk. I’m not in the mood for company right now, so just—”

“She’s safe,” the deer interrupted as he sat down in front of her. Chloe stopped, her brow furrowing as she looked at him. “Max is safe. Someone is with her,” he clarified.

“H-huh?” Chloe blinked, taken off guard by the sudden announcement. “You…you know Max?”

The deer tilted his head at her as his legs curled up under his body. “Considering how much you have been talking about her the past week, I would find it somewhat inconsiderate if I _didn’t_ know about her at this point,” he pointed out. “I heard you crying for her after she visited earlier, so I followed her.”

“How is she? Is she safe??” Chloe asked, crawling up to meet the deer as close as she could.

“…yes. She is. I guided a nearby sympathetic soul to her,” the deer said, looking back at Chloe. “That person is watching your Max now, and she is out of harm’s way. It was the most I could ensure.”

“But is she—”

“She _is_ safe. I promise you,” the deer preemptively answered for her. Chloe shut her mouth. She didn’t have much of a reason to trust the magical talking spirit deer…but she also didn’t have a reason _not_ to trust him. And something about the deer’s tone of voice was so firm that it was somewhat hard to cast doubt on what he was saying.

“…okay. Fine. Uh, thanks,” Chloe said, somewhat comforted by his words. “That was…really nice of you to check up on her. I don’t suppose you could pass a message on to her if I told you what to say…? Or, let me guess…”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Chloe and the deer stated in unison, Chloe repeating the phrase in a mocking sort of tone. The deer looked back at her mutely, and she couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or amused. But the expression sure as hell amused Chloe as she snickered. He let out a sigh. “I can’t communicate that way to humans. Only to you.”

“Why, though? You can’t directly talk to humans, or spirits…why can you talk to me?” Chloe asked.

“…I don’t know. Maybe the spirit who knew you does. Their aura reached out to me to send me here, after all,” the deer said.

“To keep me company. Right,” Chloe said, lying back down as she let herself relax somewhat. “Alright…fine. I guess we’re cool now. Even if you’re just a figment of my imagination—”

“I’m not.”

“—then my brain could’ve come up with something _way_ stupider than this,” Chloe finished. The deer acknowledged the sentiment by yawning and closing his eyes.

According to the talking deer, Max was safe. Someone had found her…she just hoped that whoever it was, they were doing a good job. _Oh well, not much I can do about it here. Might as well strike up conversation with the deer now that I know it can actually respond._

“Hey, do you have a name?”

“No.”

“I’m gonna name you Bongo.”

“Okay.”

“You wanna know where I got the name Bongo?”

“Okay.”

“My cat. My old cat’s name was Bongo. Pretty funny, right?”

“Sure.”

“Bongo the Cat and Bongo the Deer. Bongo the Cat couldn’t talk, though, so you’ve got one point over him.”

“…”

“…then again, Bongo the Cat let me cuddle him. So I guess you guys are about even.”

“If you say so,” Bongo the Deer responded, tucking his head on top of his curled-up legs to fall asleep.

* * *

Bongo kept his promise. Sure enough, a few weeks later, Chloe was relieved to see Max visit her grave again. Although she still had a similarly sad look in her eyes, she also seemed much more relaxed. Max even cracked a few jokes with her as she updated Chloe about her life – spilling some gossip on the new photography teacher, Principal Wells’s supposedly awful resignation speech (and from the hilarious way Max described it, Chloe was _so_ jealous that she missed it), among other things. Chloe couldn’t help but laugh as she listened to her, and by the time Max was done, she actually noticed a small, genuine smile on her face. For once, Max may have actually felt _better_ by visiting the cemetery than worse.

The only fact that made Chloe feel better after Max’s visit was that she kept on coming back. It was getting harder and harder for Chloe to keep track of the days (she couldn’t exactly draw tally marks in the ground due to her ghost hands), but she guessed that maybe a couple of times a week, Max would stop by her grave again. Sometimes she talked, sometimes she didn’t. Sometimes she brought someone with her, like Joyce, or one of her friends (Kate, Chloe thought her name was? A nice little church girl. She looked a little familiar, maybe), while sometimes…most of the time, she came alone. Sometimes she was in a good mood. And sometimes Max looked like she wanted to curl up in a ball and bury herself next to her. Thankfully, though, it never got as bad as that one visit.

Chloe could relate to some of Max’s worse days. Her existential anxiety ebbed and flowed depending on the day, too. She still had no idea why she was here, or what she had to do in order to get over to the “next plane of existence” or whatever the hella phrase Bongo used to describe it was. Whenever she tried to press him (her? It? Chloe still wasn’t sure what the doe’s gender was, and Bongo didn’t know either) on it, he always gave some vague answer that Chloe usually guessed was the spirit deer equivalent of “dunno.” But hey, being a ghost was something she supposed people got used to. Maybe. Hopefully. It’s not like she’d gotten the chance to actually talk to other ghosts or anything.

Months and seasons passed. Chloe watched as snow covered the ground in what she guessed was probably early December, and then melted away in what she guessed was March…ish? She at least knew it was January when Max came back after being gone for a few weeks for Christmas. It was easy to lose track of days as a ghost, and whenever she began to try, she always got bummed out about just how long she’d been stuck there, and so she just…stopped.

But as the sun started to shine more and the flowers and plants began to bloom around her, Chloe guessed that at the very least, it had been months since that week in October that flipped her and Max’s perception of reality upside down. Not quite the Summer, since Max was still visiting her, but definitely sometime in the Spring…which meant _that_ clock was ticking. Chloe didn’t like to think about what would happen to her when Max would inevitably leave Arcadia Bay, probably for good, after graduating from Blackwell; so she mainly distracted herself through her idle chit-chat with Bongo and, of course, one-sided conversations with Max.

But in the back of her mind, Chloe knew this fragile, relative peace couldn’t last forever.

“…so, yeah, I’d give _Rise of the Planet of the Apes_ a solid 6,” Max said, finishing her review of the film. “It has nothing on the original, but you know, it’s a decent popcorn flic. Probably wouldn’t watch it again or anything, but hey, I’ll try to catch the sequel coming out this summer. Or do they all still count as prequels?”

“Super Max asking the real questions. I didn’t even know they were still making them,” Chloe responded with a smirk. From the scathing critique Max had just given of the film, Chloe probably would’ve passed on it…but then again, at this point it had been so long since she’d seen anything that she might even watch one of those hella dumb Transformers movies or some shit.

“Plus, well, Warren was there to help explain the lore behind the ‘Apes’ movies, which added something to the experience,” Max added. Chloe couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that. Max never mentioned Warren much, but whenever she did, her imagination (not to mention jealousy) always went wild there. From the few interactions the two of them had, it was always painfully obvious that Warren was crushing hard on Max. Chloe even thought Max found it obvious, too.

“Well, if you got your boy toy there, then I’m guessing it wasn’t all bad,” Chloe said. Max had gone silent for a while, so Chloe decided to fill the void with her own thoughts. “Can’t say I’m too surprised that you’re cozying up with him. He…he has a good heart. You two would probably… _probably,_ be good together,” she sighed, hating to admit that fact out-loud. She still thought the kid was a dweeb…but then again, so was Max.

“But the movie’s, uh, stupid…Chloe, there’s actually something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. For a while,” Max said, a small blush on her face that didn’t go unnoticed to Chloe. There was a pause before she spoke again. “I’m…actually, uh, seeing someone.”

The words stung more than Chloe cared to admit, but she couldn’t say she was surprised. A hot piece of action like her still single at eighteen? Yeah, no. “Max, Max, Maxeroni, I get it,” Chloe said. “I got my fair share of action from you while I was around, and I’m not even gonna pretend that anything between us is possible while I’m like…this.” She chuckled. “Don’t get me wrong, that Warren kid still doesn’t hold a candle to me. Still though, he…gets my approval. I’m happy he makes you happy, and that’s all that—”

“…her name is Victoria.”

Chloe froze, her jaw dropping as she stared at Max. A small, bashful smile crept up on Max’s face as she confirmed just _which_ Victoria it was. “Chase. It’s, uh, Victoria Chase. She’s my…girlfriend.”

_Oh, HELL no._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, Chapter Two is here!! Thanks for the positive response to the first chapter, I really appreciated it. This chapter I thought it would be important to give a little bit more insight into Chloe...a decision that I'm still debating whether or not is the right call. But oh well! If some things are still confusing to you, then don't worry - they should be! Chloe is hella confused too after all.
> 
> Next chapter is going to be back to the present with Victoria, but don't worry, you'll get all of the backstory you need with how Victoria and Max got closer with each other. Hope you liked this chapter, and if you like what you see so far then I'd really appreciate it if you left a comment or a kudos! They are incredibly motivating. Have a great day! :)


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